AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Most states lack anti-discrimination policies and staff training needed to protect transgender youth in foster care, juvenile detention facilities and homeless shelters, according to a new report.

There are clear federal standards for the treatment of such youth, but states and communities don't always follow such rules, said Currey Cook of the civil rights organization Lambda Legal, which helped write the report.

"Most placements and facilities are sex-specific and too often don't affirm their identities," Cook said.

The data on transgender youth is limited, but experts...